Improved box for coffee, spices



MFETERS. PROTWLITHOGRAFMER. NAsmNGTONfD. cA

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

H. IVESLEY HUTOHINS, OF LIVERMORE FALLS, MAINE.

IMPROVED BOX FOR COFFEE, SPICES, 80C.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 98,502, dated January 4, 1870.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, H. WESLEY HUTcHINs, of Livermore Falls, in the county of Androscoggin and State of Maine, have invented a new and' useful Improved Box; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others to make and use my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a sectional elevation of the top of the box, showin g the reversible cover. Fig. 2 is a top plan.

Same letters show like parts.

The objectV of this invention is to produce a box made ofwood, for holding coffee, spices, &c., and so constructed as to be convenient for transportation and use. One item of expense in the packing of spices is the boxes and 4packages in which they are contained, adding, as they do, much tothe cost of the said articles when prepared for transportation and use.

My invention seeks to provide not only a cheap box for purposes of transportation, but also one that can be used to contain the spice as it is consumed in private houses, &c.

I make the sides and ends of the box of a thin sheet of scale-board of such kind of wood as that by being scored slightly it will fold so as to form a square or parallelogram, and not break at the corners. The top and bottom are then made of thickerpieces, (see a,) so as to receive the nails or tacks which confine the sides and ends. The top has an aperture, b, (a circular one, as shown, being preferred,) with a shoulder around the edge thereof at about half the thickness of said top piece. (See c.) Into this aperture I fit a cover, d, very tightly and accurately, so that it is held by Ithe friction of the edges of the said cover and aperture. By the contact of the ends of the grain of the wood this can readily be done. This cover has a knob, e. The ends and sides are also attached with glue to the top and bottom, thus making the joint air-tight. The cover iits so accurately into the top as also to be air-tight. Thus a perfectly air-tight box is made, and the cost is very slight, which is a great desideratum for this purpose.

When the boxes are filled with spices, &c., the cover is then forced into its place and onto the shoulder c, having the knob e turned inward or downward, as indicated in Fig. l bydotted lines, thus leavingasmooth surface or exterior, and allowing of easy packing' where a large number is shipped at once.

When the box is to be opened the cover can be forced out a little by striking on the bottom of the box, or, if necessary, a corkscrew can be used. The cover is then putin, with the knob outward, and thus a convenient box is had, and the spice, coffee, te., used ont ofthe same package in which it is purchased.

Around the cut or slit between the edge of the cover and the edge of the aperture in the top of the box a strip of paper, It, is pasted for a label, in the form of a circle, for the purpose of printing the name of the article, ttc.

Thus4 an air-tight receptacle is provided, convenient for transportation and use, and cheap, as well as capable of beingmanufactured with great rapidity.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The box as described, having the reversible cover d, the ends and sides of a single piece, and the knob e, as herein set forth.

H. WESLEY HUTOHINS.

Witnesses:

WM. FRANKLIN SEAVEY, HENRY C. HoUsToN. 

